Jump to content

Android TV


Fishy
 Share

Recommended Posts

Almost all households have one of this set (or maybe 2-3 sets)

 

-------------

 

Android TV box sellers to be charged in case that could determine legality of media streaming boxes in Singapore

An advert for a TV boc. These boxes often come preloaded with apps that can access pirated content.

An advert for a TV boc. These boxes often come preloaded with apps that can access pirated content.SCREENSHOT

PUBLISHED7 HOURS AGO

FACEBOOK18TWITTERWHATSAPPEMAIL

Irene ThamSenior Tech Correspondent

SINGAPORE - Two Android TV box sellers in Singapore are being taken to court in what could be a landmark case for piracy involving the use of media streaming boxes.

 

Local retailer Synnex Trading and its director Jia Xiaofeng, and trading firm An-Nahl and its director Abdul Nagib bin Abdul Aziz will be charged in court on Friday (Jan 12), according to a hearing list on the State Courts' website.

 

These boxes - also known as Android TV boxes as they run on the Android smartphone operating system - often come preloaded with apps that can access pirated content, and have been the scourge of pay-TV operators and content publishers. Each box goes for as little as $219, as marketed on Synnex's Facebook page.

 

 

According to the hearing list, the offences relate to Section 136 (3A) of the Copyright Act, which involves the accused wilfully infringing copyright to obtain a commercial advantage. It carries a jail term not exceeding six months, a fine of up to $20,000 or both.

 

The case would be the first time the legality of the ubiquitous media streaming boxes come before the courts.

 

Lawyers told The Straits Times that this was unlikely to be a straightforward case as the act of selling the boxes and installing apps to access pirated content does not fall squarely in the provision.

 

ADVERTISING

 

 

Mr Neil Kevin Gane, general manager of the Coalition Against Piracy, was listed as the complainant on the State Courts' website.

 

The Coalition Against Piracy was formed in October last year (2017) by video content creators and distributors in Asia to fight against piracy. Its members include the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (Casbaa), which in turn lists StarHub and Singtel as members, as well as entertainment content publishers The Walt Disney Company, Fox Networks Group and HBO Asia.

 

The lawsuit appears to have come after years of lobbying the local authorities, with no success, to conduct raids on Android TV box syndicates.

 

The latest study on piracy in Singapore, commissioned by Casbaa, revealed that two in five people in Singapore were actively tuning in to pirated content, and many of them do so via media players that let them stream online content to their television sets.

 

bp_minix_120917_54.jpg

Media players provide illegal access to TV series, movies and live sports events.

Related Story

2 in 5 people in Singapore actively stream pirated content: Study

Research firm Sycamore, which conducted the survey, polled 1,000 Singapore residents aged 18 to 64 online in April last year (2017) and interviewed about 300 users of media players.

 

"These boxes are sold for the purpose of piracy. They come pre-loaded with apps to help people stream illegal content," said Mr John Medeiros, Casbaa's chief policy officer, had said.

  • Praise 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

Twincharged

Almost all households have one of this set (or maybe 2-3 sets)

 

-------------

 

Android TV box sellers to be charged in case that could determine legality of media streaming boxes in Singapore

 

i have more than that ...but not using ... coz my son hogs the tv the whole day ! i don't even get to local FTA channels at home ! :lll._.:

Link to post
Share on other sites

Oh, my cousin bought the arcade box from them. Which is an emulator loaded with hundreds of games. Dunno if that's piracy as well. But then, they are quite friendly. lol. Let him test the games til song song.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I would say no case. The box itself does not contain the pirated material. It is merely the conduit for the pirated material.

Why don't they go after "google" for allowing those companies to provide the conduit software for the pirated materials in google play store?

 

Reason is simple, "google" is too big for them to go after, end consumer too many and too small for them to go after. So target the not so big not so small companies.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Twincharged

I would say no case. The box itself does not contain the pirated material. It is merely the conduit for the pirated material.

anyway, the box itself is just a device for accessing the material ... just like a dedicated PC ... so even if without box, ppls can still use their home pcs or just their phones to access the materials ... so even though SH is a conglomerate, its not going to be easy for them to go after all the mobile device coys as well ? ... actually they should just blame themselves as they are the proxy providers too !

Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...